[Artemisia] Event Thoughts

[Willa - Rose]

Love this topic Master Niccolo, thank you.

Magic always occurs for me during those moments when I am appreciating
the romantic silhouette of my dashing swordsman and love of my life,
Maitre Guillaume. More magical moments occur when including my horses in
this game. Riding in tournament with my fellow equestrians transports me
to another time. I really enjoyed that parade at Uprising a few years ago
too, complete with mounted royalty surrounded by flying banners presented
through an arch of rapiers and led by bagpipers. Oh, I can't forget that
magic bottle of mead consumed under a starlit summer's night after
dancing on the manicured lawn of a winery chateau. Now that I reflect
back on magical moments, I can recall many and they all have a common
denominator. I believe it is *fun*. Everyone present during those moments
was totally committed in having *fun* while sporting their best
reenactment behavior.

Perhaps it's just as simple as being *dedicated* to having *fun* that
will produce a return of more magical moments for all.  In other words,
if it ain't fun, then change your attitude. For fun, let's dissect *fun*
at events with the chivalric virtues:

Prowess: laughing, enjoying, appreciating the opportunity to play with
like minded mates.
Loyalty: attendance and imagination
Largess: volunteering
Courtesy: kind words and appropriate titles spoken  
Franchise: behaving like a noble
Faith: being a dependable player

My wish is for more camping events that allow pets and horses... of
course. smile

Yasmeena

Mu'allemah Yasmeena, OL, OP, Cd'O, etc. 
"The Equestrian Mistress"
Minister of the Royal Stables of Artemisia 
Mounted Companion of the Lance of St. Anne 
http://lanceofstanne.homestead.com/yasmeena.html




On Wed, 8 Dec 2004 10:11:59 -0800 (PST) Bruce Padget <bapadget at yahoo.com>
writes:
> For a little over a year, I've been talking to folks -
> dozens of them - about the so-called "magic" moments
> at events.  You know, the moments that keep you coming
> back despite the crap.  By no means a scientific
> survey, but the answers showed me sufficiently
> consistent patterns to draw some conclusions.
> 
> The vast majority said that their magic times happened
> well after dark.  A minority said they had had such
> times very early in the morning.  A smaller minority
> said they had such times in the afternoon, when they
> hit the tired-but-not-yet-exhausted phase of fighting.
> 
> The vast majority (at least 95%) said that magic times
> *only* occured in unplanned, unscheduled happenings at
> events. No one said that magic happens only or chiefly
> during planned happenings.
> 
> All agreed that there is no predicting when magic will
> happen.
> 
> My conclusions:
> 
> First, magic is random.  My dad taught me a lot about
> probability.  (He is fairly knowledgable in advanced
> physics, but most of his probability lessons seemed to
> involve cards and chips :D)  He said the main thing to
> know about probability is that, no matter how small
> the probability of occurence x, given enough trials,
> occurence x becomes a virtual certainty.  (Hence the
> maxim in astrophysics that anything not forbidden is
> mandatory. :D)
> 
> In event terms, this means the more events there are,
> and the more you go to, the more likely there is to be
> magic.
> 
> Second, magic tends to happen at the start and end of
> the day.  I've noted a trend -- not entirely imposed
> by site owners -- of Artemisian events starting later
> in the day and ending earlier.  By limiting the
> chances for magic in this way, events seem more like
> chores, and the cycle becomes self-reinforcing.  
> 
> Third, embrace chaos.  At my favorite events, the
> event steward doesn't see his job as planning an
> event.  Instead, his job is arrange time and space for
> an event to happen.  As one clear example, if you get
> a dozen fighters in the same general area, do you
> *really* think they won't think of anything to do if
> you don't plan melees and tourneys for them?  
> 
> I've heard a little talk of a malaise in Artemisia. 
> Three solutions that strike me as pretty clear -- more
> events, longer events, less structured events.
> 
> Regards,
> Niccolo
> Abbastanza Buon Non E Abbastanza Buono
> bapadget at yahoo.com
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> 

Mu'allemah Yasmeena, OL, OP, Cd'O, etc. 
"The Equestrian Mistress"
Minister of the Royal Stables of Artemisia 
Mounted Companion of the Lance of St. Anne 
http://lanceofstanne.homestead.com/yasmeena.html